Pokemon: Unova
by melonator12
Summary: The story of Brett, who is just starting his new journey with his brand new Pokemon  which is revealed in the story. I will try to update at least once a week, if not then as soon as possible
1. Indecisive

The Journey Begins

Brett woke with a start. The remnants of his nightmare still hanging in the air, he quickly swept his eyes around the room to make sure no one was with him. When he was satisfied, he got up, slipped on his slippers and headed downstairs for breakfast.

When he got down there, Mom and her Audino were cooking breakfast at a pace only they could do. When she noticed Brett standing there, she threw him a quick smile, and said "Breakfast still needs a few minutes. Why don't you go watch TV for a little bit? I'll call you when it's ready." I nodded and trotted off to the living room and switched the TV on.

But Brett has watched too much TV this last month to last a while, so he wasn't watching TV for long. He was antsy and nervous for tomorrow, which was probably the biggest decision he'll ever have to make: his first Pokémon. He was not sure whether he should pick Tepig, Snivy, or Oshawott. He thought he would choose the same Pokémon as his father, but his father didn't choose one of the three standard starters. His father, who was a Pokémon League Champion in the Kanto Region before his death, gave him his first Pokémon. But he couldn't dwell on this. He had to make a decision tomorrow. When his mom called him in for dinner, he jumped out of his seat and rushed into the kitchen, hungry as a 15 year old should be. When he sat down, she tried to start a conversation he didn't want to start.

"So, have you decided what Pokémon you want?" Brett stopped before his forked reached the plate.

"I'm not quite sure; none of them really sound appealing. None of them really seem to fit me." When he looked up, he saw his mom staring right back at him. "Well I can understand that." She said "After all, I didn't choose one of the starters as my first Pokémon" "Audino!" followed this. Audino was actually an egg from another Audino who worked at the Pokémon Center. It was given to her because my mom was a frail and sick child, and Audinos have a knack of nursing people back to health. They've always shared a special bond that Brett envied, and wanted with a Pokémon of his own. He stared down at his plate when he heard a _thunk _on the table. He looked up and saw his mom set down a Pokeball onto the table.

"Why don't you go out and check out the mine outside of town? You can take Audino with you. There's bound to be a Pokémon out there for you Brett, you just haven't found it yet."

Brett's face lit up almost immediately as he rushed upstairs and got dressed. The thought of going out and catching his own Pokémon appealed to him much more than just simply choosing one. This seemed a lot more natural. He rushed downstairs, grabbed Audino's Pokeball, and headed off to the mine.

When he reached the mine, he started feeling a bit more nervous. He never tried to catch a Pokémon before, so he didn't know how. What if he screwed up? What if he couldn't find a Pokémon? But he had to press on. Brett took a deep breath, and with a bold step started searching for a Pokémon.

When he entered the cave, the musty smell of the dirt and rock was there to greet him, along with the rustling sounds of Pokémon. "Audino, see any Pokémon?" Audino looked around, and shook her head. "Aud Audino." She said

"Yeah, me either." Just then they heard the cry of a Pokémon. "Drill Drilbur!" it sounded desperate and in trouble.

"Audino! Where's that coming from?" Audino cocked one ear into the air, and was off immediately to fine the source. They went through a bunch of twist and turns, and plenty of dead ends, until they found the source of the noise. There was a Drilbur, surrounded by 3 Boldores. The Boldores were pelting the Drilbur with Rock Throw, and cornering the Pokémon so it had nowhere to run. There was also a Woobat flying overhead using Confuse Ray. They had the Drilbur trapped, alone, and confused. The sight made Brett's blood boil, and he went into a fit of rage.

"Audino, use Hyper Beam on the Boldores!" Audino took in a mighty breath, and shot out a snowstorm not knocked the nearest Boldore over, and staggered the rest.

"Good, now use Double Edge on the Woobat" this attack KO'd the Woobat, and destroyed the morale of the Boldores.

"Finish them off with Take Down!" Audino charged the Boldore that still remained and slammed him into the wall. After the Boldores ran off, carrying away their Woobat leader, Brett and Audino went to go check on the Drilbur. He regained his senses just enough to see Brett and Audino fight off his assailants. When Brett got over there, Drilbur was beaten and bruised up. Brett scooped him up and carried him home.

"Audino, use Healing Pulse." Audino went into a trance, healing Drilbur with every "Aud" that emitted from her. "It's a good thing you came across this Pokémon, or he would have been done for." When Drilbur regained consciousness, Brett rushed to his side to make sure he was fully healed. When Drilbur saw Brett, He leaped at him "Drilbur Drill!" he said happily as he knocked him to the floor. "Haha your welcome!" he jumped off and went into a salute and said devotedly "Drill Drilbur!" I sat up, not understanding what he was saying "Huh? I'm sorry I don't understand"

"I think Drillbur wants to go with you. You saved him and I guess he feels devotion to you." Mom smiled. Brett looked at Drillbur.

"Is that true? Do you wanna be my Pokémon?" Drillbur nodded vigorously. "Drilbur Drilbur!" Brett couldn't believe it. _This Pokémon actually wants to go with me! _He thought.

"Alright," Brett said as he pulled out the Pokeball his mom gave him "Pokeball go!" the Pokeball turned Drillbur into a beam of energy, and sucked it in as it dropped to the floor. It rolled once. Twice. Three times. Then it stopped. The feeling of joy enveloped Brett. "I caught a Drilbur!" he said.

Brett let out Drilbur from his Pokeball, with a smile laid across his face. Drilbur looked happier than he was before, and exited to be with his new Trainer. "So," Brett's mom said, "what are you going to do now?"

"We're going to train," Brett said, "And someday face the Pokémon League!" Brett's mom smiled. "I don't think I've ever seen you this happy." And she agreed to let him try for his dream. So the next day, Brett and his Drilbur gathered supplies, such as Pokemon food and camping things, and they were off, out of Nuvema Town and beginning their journey.


	2. Rivalry

Brett, energetic and excited to be on his journey, was walking down the dirt road out of Nuvema Town, with his Drilbur following him diligently. Suddenly, a kid about Brett's age, in a red flannel shirt, torn jeans and white sneakers came out of nowhere. He said nothing, just looked at Brett's Drillbur.

"Um… Do you need something?" The stranger jumped a bit and looked at Brett, as if noticing him for the first time. He took another look at Drilbur, and said, "Is this your Pokémon?"

"Yep. This is Drilbur." Brett motioned to Drilbur, who answered with "Drill Drilbur!"

"Hm." The kid looked up at Brett. "Let's battle." Brett was taken aback. He didn't expect to get into a battle this fast. He was hoping to train a little with Drilbur, get feel of his moves.

"Um.. I'm not sure. I was kinda hoping to train a little bit beforehand.."

"How can you hope to get any better if you don't battle?" He stared intently at Brett and sneered. "Unless you think your Drilbur isn't fit or too weak to battle my Pokémon."

Drillbur was fired up after this. Drillbur looked at Brett with determination flared. "You really wanna fight this guy?" "Drilbur Drill!"

"Alright. I accept. By the way, I'm Brett." "Charles." Was his response.

"This battle will have to go without a ref. seeing as—"

"BRET!" Brett whipped around to see his mom running down the road towards the two trainers. "I'm so glad I caught up with you. Professor Juniper wanted me to give you these." She handed Brett a box. When he opened it, it contained 5 Pokeballs, and a Pokédex.

"Thanks Mom. Hey, while you're here, would you mind reffing this battle between me and Charles?" Brett's mom looked over her shoulder to see a less than happy Charles staring right back at her.

"Of course. But be careful, and make sure to check Drilbur's moves with your Pokédex." Brett pulled the Pokédex out of the box and flipped it up. He brought the cursor over Drilbur, and a list of moves showed up. He knew Scratch and Fury Swipes. Brett put the Pokédex and faced Charles.

"Alright, we have a ref. Now we're ready to battle"

"The battle between Brett and Charles will now commence. It will be a one-on-one Pokémon battle, the first Pokémon to faint loses. Commence!"

Charles pulled out a Pokeball "Go, Tympole!" The Pokeball opened and a tadpole-looking Pokémon came out. "Tympole!"

Brett was nervous about the type disadvantage, but he didn't let it faze him.

"Alright Drilbur, you ready?" "Drill Drilbur!" Drillbur jumped into the field, pepped and ready to go.

"Tympole, use Bubble!" Tympole shot a cluster of bubbles at Drillbur.

"Dodge, and use Scratch!" Drilbur responded almost instantaneously. He jumped out of the way of the bubbles and jumped at Tympole. Drilbur's right claw started to glow, and he struck a heavy blow that knocked Tympole a few feet back. Charles looked surprised that Drilbur had so much power. Brett assumed that he thought that Drilbur wasn't as strong as his Tympole, or maybe the type advantage made him think he had an assured win.

"Grr Tympole use Supersonic!" Tympole sent out a sound wave that disoriented Drilbur. Drillbur was swaying back and forth, like he just got off a Tilt-O-Whirl.

Brett, being a new trainer, didn't fully understand what happened, and tried to attack Tympole one more time. "Drilbur, use Fury Swipes!" Drillbur's claws lit up, but he charged in the wrong direction! Drilbur ended up cutting an adjacent tree. Charles was laughing at the spectacle that was taking place.

"Hahaha! Your Drilbur is confused! It's going to have some trouble obeying you now!" Brett had to think of something and fast, or Charles' Tympole was going to hit Drilbur with another Bubble. He thought, and came up with a farfetched idea.

"Drilbur, look at me!" Drilbur dizzily faced Brett. He was swaying, and his eyes weren't focusing on any particular spot.

"Drilbur, you have this! But you gotta snap out of it or Tympole's gonna get you!" Drilbur looked directly at Brett, and his eyes focused. He regained composure, and turned to face Tympole and Charles.

"I will admit. That was impressive. I didn't think that would actually work, but it doesn't matter. Me and Tympole Are Still going to crush you two!"

"We'll see about that. Alright Drilbur, use Fury Swipes!" Once again, Drilbur's claws started to glow, and he charged towards Tympole

"Tympole, Now!" Tympole leaped into the air, above Drilbur. "Now use Bubble." Tympole shot a barrage of bubbles bigger than the last batch, but these hit Drilbur directly. They slowed Drilbur down, but he picked back up. When Tympole dropped, Drilbur was there waiting for him, and struck him with a massive amount of slashes that sent Tympole flying back and out of the battle.

"Tympole is unable to battle, the winner is Drilbur. The winner of this match goes to Brett!" Brett rushed out to Drilbur and hoisted him into the air.

"Good job Drilbur, you were amazing!"

Drilbur smiled "Drill Drilbur!" When Brett set Drilbur down, Charles made his way over to Brett.

"I can't believe I lost to the likes of you! You just started, me and Tympole have been training for days! I can't let this stand. I WILL defeat you someday."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll probably see you plenty more times, so we'll battle the next time we see each other." Charles folded his arms and scoffed.

"the next time we battle, it'll be on my terms. And I WILL be stronger than you." He returned Tympole to his Pokeball and started off with a waive of his hand.

Brett's mom started over to him. "Brett! You battled amazingly! At this rate you'll definitely beat the Striation Gym, and every Gym after that." She smiled warmly at him, her pride written all over her face.

"I couldn't do it without Drilbur, he was the one who did all the work." Brett turned to Drilbur with a smile. "So, you ready to keep going?"

"Drill Drill Drilbur!" hollered Drilbur, then he saluted. Brett returned him to his Pokeball, then turned and faced his mom.

"So you ran all the way out here to give me a Pokédex and a few Pokéballs?" his mom looked at the ground. "Well…. I wanted to make sure you were OK too" Brett chuckled a bit.

"Mom, I'll be ok. Don't worry." It was her turn to laugh. "I know. It's just a motherly thing. Anyways, make sure to catch plenty of Pokémon. Bye!" she waved as she walked away.

Brett called Drillbur out once again. "Ready?"

"Drilbur." They both nodded, then they moved along, on their way to Striaton, and the next leg in their journey.


	3. Battle!

Brett looked up at the sky.

It was two days after his battle with Charles, and he has moved far since then. He's almost made it to Accumula Town, and he trained a bit with Drilbur. But he had a problem. He hadn't caught a single Pokémon yet. He looked down at Drilbur and smiled, and Drilbur returned it.

"I think it's time we catch you a friend, isn't it?"

"Drill Drillbur." Drilbur nodded. Brett looked around, and found a patch of tall grass that looked perfect for looking for Pokémon. He waded through the grass, when he felt something brush against his legs. Brett jumped, and looked back to see the grass moving, moving back towards the road. He couldn't see what Pokémon it was, but he wanted to make sure it wasn't one he wanted. He ran back to the road, just in time to see a tannish puppy looking Pokémon jump out of the grass and down the road.

"A Lillipup! Let's get it. Come on Drilbur!" Drilbur nodded, and together they ran to catch up with the Lillipup. As Lillipup was running, it took a look back and saw the Pokémon and it's trainer running towards him. He looked forward and started running faster, but Brett and Drilbur were faster. They caught up with Lillipup in no time, and had him cornered in even less time.

"Alright Drilbur, let's go!" Drilbur jumped from behind Brett, ready to battle for Brett. Lillipup saw the determination in Drilbur's eyes, and the need to impress and earn the respect of his trainer, and decided that it will battle Drilbur.

Brett saw the Lillipup crouch and prep itself for their battle. All the sudden, it shot at Drilbur and clamped down onto Drilbur's shoulder. _Bite! _Brett was impressed with the amount of strength that Lillipup had, but he knew Drilbur was prepared for this situation. "Drilbur, use Rapid Spin!" Drillbur brought his arms above his head and started spinning at an increasing speed. Lillipup, who was still clinging to Drilbur, clamped tighter hoping to slow Drilbur down. Drilbur ignored the Bite and spun faster and faster, until Lillipup couldn't hold on anymore. Lillipup went flying, and slammed against a tree. Brett thought that he was done for, but to his surprise Lillipup still got up.

"You don't give up easy, do you?" Lillipup looked up at Brett, and saw the kindness in his eyes. Lillipup felt instantly at peace, and his spirits were lifted. Lillipup replied happily, "Lillipup!" but then brought his game face back on, Lillipup learned from his previous mistake, and this time used Tackle. He rushed towards Drilbur, and slammed into him square in the chest. Drilbur was knocked back a few feet and winced. Before he could recover, Lillipup hit him with a Bite again, but didn't hold on like last time. Drilbur was being steadily weakened by the quick attacks of Lillipup, and it was starting to worry Brett. Thinking on his feet, he waited until Lillipup came in for another Tackle. Drilbur raised his arm to defend himself, before Brett yelled, "Wait! Let him come closer." So Drilbur waited until Brett yelled his next command.

Just as Lillipup got into range, Brett yelled out "Drilbur, Fury Swipes" Drilbur's claws glowed, and swiped Lillipup out of the air, and Drilbur unrelentingly hit Lillipup. But Drilbur's Fury Swipes turned into something else. Drilbur's final swipe had something else to it. As Drilbur went in for the final swipe, he scooped up some dirt, which added more damage to the attack. As Brett thought about this, he realized what just happened. When Drilbur looked at Brett, he said, "Drilbur, you just learned Mud Slap!"

That Mud Slap knocked Lillipup down and out. "Alright, time to catch you!" Brett pulled out a Pokeball from his pack and tossed it at Lillipup. It rolled for about thirty seconds, and then stopped. Brett was ecstatic. "I caught a Lillipup!"

Brett called out Lillipup, who was happy to see Brett, and also obedient. "Welcome to the team Lillipup."

"Lillipup Lill!" Lillipup ran a few circles around Brett and settled down in front of him. Drilbur came over to greet Lillipup, and it seemed that the two of them got along just fine. Brett smiled at his two Pokémon. His journey was getting off to a great start. At this rate, he'll beat the Pokémon League in no time. Brett decided to set up camp there that night. When they sat down to eat dinner, Brett looked at Lillipup.

"So how about after this, we see what you can do Lillipup?"

"Lillipup!" He seemed to like the idea of showing Brett what he could do. They quickly ate dinner, and made over to a small valley a small distance away. Brett had Drilbur go off to the other side, and He would command Lillipup.

"Alright, you guys ready?" Both his Pokémon nodded, and Lillipup's training began.

"Lillipup, use Tacke!" Lillipup charged towards Drilbur, and since it was a training battle, he let Lillipup hit him. The power behind this tackle was considerably stronger than the one in their battle. "Good, let's keep at that. Keep using Tackle!" Lillipup kept hitting Drilbur with Tacke after Tackle.

Lillipup charged Drilbur, but a white haze enveloped Lillipup as he was running. When he hit Drilbur, it knocked him into a tree several yards away, knocking Drilbur out. "Lillipup, you learned Take Down!" Lillipup turned and jumped at Brett.

"Lillipup Lill!" In the heat of Lillipup's new move, he forgot all about Drilbur. He rushed over to make sure he was ok, but he looked like he was in pretty bad shape. Brett scooped him up, returned Lillipup to his Pokeball, and ran towards Accumula Town.


	4. Protection

Brett's feet slammed against the dirt road as he carried Drilbur to the Pokémon Center in Accumula Town. He didn't know why it was a good idea for Drilbur to stand there and take a beating from Lillipup. He should have realized that Drilbur would get hurt.

But he can't worry about that now. Right now he had to worry about making it to Accumula Town in time. Brett came over the crest of a hill to see Accumula Town, and he could see a Pokémon Center just a little farther down the road. He pushed farther with more resolve, and rushed through the door of the Pokémon Center, to see a surprised woman with pink hair in a bob cut staring at him.

"Help." Was all he could utter before he collapsed on the floor from exhaustion. He worked himself past the breaking point getting Drilbur here. When he woke up, he was in a bed in the recovery room of the Pokémon Center. He sat up groggily, and looked around. He forgot why he was here and for what. Then it hit him like a brick, and he shot out of bed. He rushed to the front desk to see the same woman working there.

"Where's Drilbur?" the nurse put a calming hand on his shoulder.

"Your Drilbur is just fine. You got him here at the perfect moment. If you came any later Drilbur would have had some serious damage. He's recovering down the hall if you want to see him." Brett shouted a thank you over his shoulder as he rushed into the hallway and came to Drilbur's door. Just as he was reaching for the handle he stopped. What if Drilbur was mad at Brett for what happened? What if he didn't forgive him for the way he was treated? He sat outside the room contemplating what he should do. After a few seconds he opened the door. Drilbur was on a white bed sleeping. He had a few bandages across his body, but that was it. Brett breathed a sigh of relief. He walked over to the bedside and placed a hand on Drilbur's shoulder.

"Drilbur, you OK?" Drilbur stirred for a moment and looked at Brett. Drilbur stirred and looked at him.

"Drill…" he clutched his head and rolled to get a better look at Brett. Tears were running down Brett's face and his shoulders shook with the force of his sobs.

"I'm so sorry Drilbur. This is all my fault. I should have had you defend yourself instead of standing there and taking it. I shouldn't be a Pokémon Trainer." He looked down and sobbed harder. Drilbur sat up and kept looking at Brett. He put a hand on his shoulder and smiled. "Drill Drilbur." He said. Brett looked up and saw that Drilbur was trying to say that he forgave Brett. Brett smiled and looked Drilbur over. Besides from the bandage on his head, he had a big bandage on his arm, but then it was all just cuts and bruises.

"You." Brett heard a voice behind him and turned around. He saw a man in the doorway. He was wearing a gray business suit with a black tie and a brown leather briefcase. He had a tag on his suit that Brett couldn't read at this distance. The man walked over to him and Drilbur with a stride.

"Are you the owner of this Drilbur?"

"Um.. yeah. Who are you?" the man straightened his jacket then took off his name tag and showed him.

"My name is Michael Nexton. I'm from the Pokémon Protection Committee. I'm here to confiscate your Drilbur." Brett's eyes widened.

"What? Why?"

"You are simply not fit to be a trainer. I'll also take any other Pokémon you have." Michael stuck his chin up and thrust his hand out.

"No! I'm not just going to hand over my Pokémon just because you say I have to!" Michael looked him in the eyes and brought his hand down. A fire of loathing burnt in his eyes.

"You trainers are all the same. Pokémon are beautiful creatures to be treated with kindness and respect, and you treat them as something you can beat and use at your leisure. Well that's not how it works. That Drilbur was in terrible shape when it got here, and I immediately asked who the trainer was when it got here. They said you were passed out in the other room, so I waited. Now, I'm here to do what's right for the Pokémon."

"But it was an accident! It won't happen again!" Brett was terrified. He couldn't believe this was happening to him. He just started his journey, now it might come to an abrupt end.

"It will happen again. Trust me." Michael's face was stoic, and Brett knew he wouldn't budge on this. Then he had an idea. It wasn't very smart, considering he just started his journey, but he was desperate and it was worth a shot. He looked over at Drilbur, and Drilbur nodded as if knowing what Brett was thinking.

"How about this. Why don't we battle? If I win, I get to keep my Pokémon. If you win, I'll hand my Pokémon over. Deal?" Michael looked surprised, then he laughed.

"You honestly think you can beat me in a Pokémon Battle? This'll be easy. I accept your challenge."

Brett took his place on the other side of Michael. The nurse, whom Brett found out was Nurse Joy, from the front desk was the ref for this battle.

"The Pokémon Battle between Michael Newton and Brett will now begin! This is a one on one battle, and no switching allowed. Begin!"

"Go, Drilbur!" Brett threw his Pokeball into the air, and Drilbur was sent out.

Michael chuckled to himself. "You think you'll beat me with that Drilbur? Go, Conkeldurr!" Michael threw his Pokeball, and a big, muscular Pokémon came out holding two enormous slabs of solid concrete, one in each hand.

"Conkeldurr!" It slammed both slabs of concrete down menacingly. Brett was nervous about this battle now. Drilbur got hurt fighting Lillipup, how will it handle against this Pokémon, even if there was no type disadvantage? But he needed to win if he wanted to keep Lillipup and Drilbur.

"Drilbur, use Fury Swipes!" Drilbur rushed forward, and hit Conkeldurr in and unrelenting fury of slashes. Conkeldurr flinched, but didn't take very much damage.

Michael looked at the scene, then at Brett and said, "Conkeldurr, Hammer Arm." Conkeldurr let go of his concrete block, brought his glowing arm up, and smashed it into Drilbur. Drilbur went flying back and smashed into the ground in front of Brett. Drilbur tried getting back up, but it was no use. Drilbur was done for.

"Drilbur!" Brett rushed out to Drilbur. He expected him to be completely banged up beyond all recognition, but it seemed that Drilbur's defense went up fighting Lillipup. Drilbur was fine, just fainted.

"Drilbur is unable to battle. The winner is Conkeldurr, which means the winner of this battle is Michael Newton!" Michael walked over to Brett and Drilbur.

"Now that the child's play is over, I will be taking your Pokémon now." Drilbur heard this, and got all worked up. He found the strength to shoot up and stand between Brett and Michael. Lillipup shot out of his Pokeball to stand next to Drilbur. He was in the same attacking position that he was in when Brett and he first met. When Michael saw this, he took a few steps back. He didn't understand. He was trying to protect these Pokémon from this cruel trainer, why are they fighting him? He looked at Brett, and saw the genuine sorrow in his eyes. Michael saw everything he needed to see.

"I believe I misread you. Your Pokémon seem to feel very strongly towards you, or they wouldn't have fought back." Brett looked up at Michael, and Michael smiled. He returned Conkeldurr to his Pokeball and looked back at Brett.

"I'm glad these Pokémon have a trainer as caring as you. Many trainers nowadays take advantage of Pokémon, and all that they do for us." Michael knelt down next to Brett.

"If you meet any trainers like this, please go to any of the Pokémon Protection Committee Centers in any town in Unova." At this, he got up, brushed off his suit, picked up his briefcase and started walking away. Brett couldn't contain his joy. He scooped Lillipup and Drilbur next to him and hugged them tight.

"Thank you guys, if it wasn't for you, I would have lost you for good."

"Drill Drilbur!"

"Lillipup!"

"Alright guys, return." He put both of them back into their Pokeballs. Now that his Pokémon were safe, he can continue his journey to Striaton City, and to his first gym badge.


	5. Goals

Chapter 5: Goals

Brett's eyes lit up when he saw the outline of the buildings on the outskirts of Striaton City. Drillbur and Lillipup have been training hard for this day, and Brett was confident that nothing was going to stop them. As he passed into town, the environment around him changed completely. There was the hustle of a small town, but the determination to finish what everyone was doing. Brett looked around, and his eyes came across the town square, which he thought was a fine place to let his Pokémon stretch their legs.

"Drillbur, Lillipup, come on out!"

Both of his pokéballs went flying through the air, and out of them soared Drillbur and Lillipup. Both were as healthy as could be, and stronger since their battle with Micheal. When Brett lost that battle, he worked as hard as he could to make sure they were ready for this gym. He refused to accept defeat, no matter the costs.

Drillbur and Lillipup were playing in the sun, when Brett saw the familiar red flannel shirt, torn jeans, and white sneaker he saw on his way out of Nuvema. Charles was walking on the opposite side of the fountain that was in the middle of the town square. Brett leaped up where he was and rushed to meet him. Charles saw him coming before Brett was halfway there, and stopped dead in his tracks.

"Charles! How ya been? Get any new Pokémon?" Charles stared right at him and said nothing.

"So… How about a Pokémon battle?" Charles made eye contact, looked at Drillbur and Lillipup playing in the pool, and back at Brett.

"I can't waste my time with you. I'm beating the gym." At that, he turned and walked away. Brett was taken aback. What did he ever do to Charles that made him hate him so much? Brett ran to catch up to him.

"Waste your time? I'm not a waste of time!" Charles stopped and looked at him.

"Look, not to burst your bubble, but not all people se Pokémon journeys as adventures. Some see them with purpose. With a goal. I'm one of these people. If you're not worthy of my time, get out of my way. Just because we had one battle doesn't mean we'll always have battle whenever we happen to be in the same place. So right now you're in my way, so MOVE!" he shouldered past Brett and kept moving. Brett just stood there for a moment. Looked down, and walked back to his Pokémon. He couldn't believe that Charles thought like that. Being a Pokémon trainer couldn't be all about goals. Yes they're nice, but if you aren't having fun with your Pokémon, what's the point? Drillbur saw that Brett was upset, so he got Lillipup and they went to see what was wrong. Drillbur walked into Brett's line of vision, and Brett looked up. He saw that Drillbur was concerned, so he smiled.

"Don't worry buddy, I'm alright." Drillbur smiled, and got him to go over to the pool with him. They played in the pool until dusk, then they went over to the Pokémon Center to stay the night. They walked through the door, and were hit with the smell of Pokémon and sterilization. They got a room, and they lay down to turn in for the night. But Brett couldn't get what Charles said out of his head. Should Brett have a goal? Or should he just be having fun? It was tearing him up. _Maybe I should be working to a goal. _He thought. Finally sleep overtook him as his last thoughts went to when he first met Drillbur, then to when he almost lost him…

The Next morning, Brett woke up early with his goal. He shot out of bed, got dressed as fast as he could, and went back to the pool where he was yesterday. He was scanning the ever moving crowd of people, and saw what he was looking for. He got up, dusted himself off, and walked up to Charles and grabbed his shoulder.

Charles looked back at him. "You again? I told you, you're in my way. I'm not gonna battle you."

Brett had fire in his eyes. "Pokémon are not just for battling. They're our companions. They keep you company when you're out on your journey. If all you see Pokémon as are tools for a mission, you'll never get very far in life. You have to enjoy the memories that you have out on this journey, because they're gonna be the best ever. So please, will you have a Pokémon battle with me?" Charles had a look of slight surprise about him. He looked at the road in front of him, and back at Brett.

"Fine. Let's battle."

Brett smiled. They went to the Pokémon Center, and got Nurse Joy to ref the battle for them.

"The battle between Brett and Charles is about to commence. This will be a one-on-one battle, no switching out. Begin!"

"Go, Pansear!" Charles' pokéball flew through the air, and Pansear came out, ready to battle. Brett was surprised. Pansear, and it's two brothers Panpour and Pansage, are rare Pokémon.

"You caught a Pansear? That's awesome! Go, Lillipup!" Brett sent out Lillipup. Brett had full confidence that Lillipup could take Pansear on. This is their first battle together, but he already trusted Lillipup.

Charles wasted no time. "Pansear, Scratch!" Pansear launched himself at Lillipup.

"Lillipup, dodge and use Bite!" Lillipup jumped to the side, and clamped on Pansear's arm where he would have connected with Lillipup. Pansear had a chunk of damage done, but could still fight.

"Pansear, Leer!" Pansear shot a piercing glare at Lillipup, which made Brett uncomfortable. Leer will lower Lillipup's defense, so this will make him have to battle a little more aggressively.

"Lillipup, use Tackle!" Lillipup snapped out of his fear and ran full sprint at Pansear. Panear was slammed back toward Charles, who was starting to look worried.

Charles looked at Brett. "I'm done playing around." He looked at Pansear and said "Incinerate." Pansear shot a cone of flames that consumed Lillipup. Lillipup cried out and slumped to the ground.

"Lillipup!" Lillipup shakily got up, but still had some fight left in him. Without any prompt, Lillipup started to use tackle. But suddenly his run got faster and faster until he slammed almost twice as hard as before into Pansear, knocking him off his feet and out of the battle.

"Lillipup, you just used Take Down!" Brett ran out and scooped Lillipup into his arms. Lillipup smiled and barked happily.

Nurse Joy's voice cut them off with, "Pansear is unable to battle, the winner is Lillipup! The battle goes to Brett!" Brett was ecstatic, but noticed the look in Charles' eyes. They were a look of anger. Charles turned on Pansear, just getting up from being slammed.

"All that training, and this is the performance you give me? Pathetic!" Brett ran and stepped between the two.

"Charles, calm down! It's just a battle, and Pansear did the best he could!" Charles turned his anger of Brett.

"If that's his best, I don't want anything to do with this Pokémon!" He took off Pansear's pokéball and tossed it to Brett. "If you think he's that good, you have him." He turned and walked away.

Pansear got up and ran as best as he could to Charles and clung to his jeans. Charles looked down, shook Pansear's hands off, and walked silently away. Pansear sat there as Charles walked away, tears welling up in his eyes. His trainer just abandoned him. He felt useless and worthless. Pansear look at Brett, who looked at Pansear crying, and just hugged him.

"P-Pansear…" Pansear didn't have the strength to fight him. He just clung to Brett, and Brett carried him to the Pokemon Center. Brett was gonna make him better. Brett was gonna make Charles regret this.


	6. Bonds

Chapter 6: Bonds

Brett shoveled the food into his mouth, hardly ever coming up for air. The food was gone almost within two to three minutes. He finally looked up, content with himself, and watched his Pokémon. Drillbur and Lillipup were happily eating their food, but Pansear hasn't touched his at all. Brett couldn't imagine what Pansear is going through. The way Charles treated him was ridiculous. How could someone just abandon their Pokémon like that? People like him don't deserve Pokémon. Brett got up and walked to Pansear. "hey buddy, you doing okay?"

Pansear didn't even look up at him. Brett got down lower and looked into his eyes.

"Pansear, I know it sucks. I can't imagine how you feel. But I know you're not the Pokémon that Charles thinks you are. You ARE strong. And with training you'll get even stronger." Pansear looked up at Brett, and Brett saw sorrow in his eyes. Pansear looked down, and slowly started to eat. Brett smiled and rubbed Pansear's head. "That's the spirit. Hey guys, how about we get some training done before the Gym battle?"

Both Drillbur and Lillipup jumped and cried with joy, but Pansear said nothing. Brett looked and him, but said nothing. He knew it was going to take a while for Pansear to get over Charles leaving him, and Brett was going to give him all the time he needed.

"Drillbur, Mud Slap!"

Drillbur swiped at the log and sent it flying. They'd been training most of the day, taking some well-deserved breaks, and just having fun. Lillipup was doing great with training. Brett had full confidence that he'll handle himself well in the Striaton Gym. Brett looked at Drillbur's handiwork and smiled. "Great job Drillbur, go ahead and take a break." Drillbur smiled and went and sat underneath a tree. Brett looked back at Pansear. He was farther off than either of his pokemon, with his head down and leaning dejectedly against a tree. Brett decided he was going to break through Pansear's wall.

"Pansear! Ready to train?" Pansear's head shot up and looked at Brett. Brett looked genuinely interested in Pansear. Pansear couldn't remember a time that Charles looked at him like that. All Charles ever did was yell commands and the occasional compliment at Pansear. He thought a moment, got up from the tree, and walked deliberately over to Brett. Brett smiled. He knew that he would. Brett set up another log, and walked back behind Pansear.

"Alright, ready Pansear?" Pansear said nothing. Just stared straight ahead. Brett looked at him. Pansear had a glazed look in his eye, like he was off in his own world. Brett walked in front of him, and the glazed look disappeared. Pansear looke up at Brett.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Pansear just stared at him. Finally, after a long pause, Pansear nodded and looked at the log. Brett stepped out of his way, and before he could even shout out a command, Pansear already started battling. He lurched forward and led off with Scratch, taking a giant chunk out of the log. He then used his momentum to push back and crisped the log with Incinerate. It crumbled into a pile of ash. Brett was startled. He didn't give Pansear any commands, and he just completely destroyed that log.

Brett walked over to Pansear. Pansear looked at Brett, and he could see the rage flaring in Pansear's eyes. "Pansear, you did great," Pansear smiled, "But you have to work with me. We'll never win unless we work together." Pansear's smile was wiped away as fast as it was put there. The rage that flowed through him taking down that log flowed through him once more, and Pansear turned away from Brett defiantly.

"Don't be mad, I just need some cooperation. Okay?" Pansear didn't look back. Brett frowned. Pansear wouldn't listen to him now, so how could they train? Brett tried to think, but nothing came to mind. Finally, Pansear just walked back to where he was before, but now with anger, not sadness. Brett trained a little more with Lillipup and Drillbur, but he left Pansear to his thoughts. Pansear looked at Brett with Drillbur and Lillipup with jealousy. Their trainer was a nice trainer. His was mean. Charles was a nice guy when he first caught Pansear, he was confident but collected. But the farther he went with Charles, the more he saw that Charles wanted to be the best he could, and Pansear wanted to help with that. But Pansear couldn't meet his standards. Pretty soon, most of what Charles did was yell at Pansear. Pansear saw this as constructive to make him better. Sometimes he wouldn't take Pansear out of his pokéball. He saw this as a punishment. Pansear didn't understand Charles sometimes, but he loved him all the same. When he left Pansear with Brett, Pansear was devastated. All that training, all that hard work and bonding, and Charles left him with a stranger. Why did Charles hate him? Why did Charles leave him with Brett? Pansear was lost in thought, and didn't see Brett come and sit next to him. He only knew when Brett nudged him. Brett had a look of genuine concern on his face.

"You know you can't shut me out forever, right? Look, I'm so sorry for what happened. Your probably sick of hearing it. But I am. I want to help you. I want to make you stronger, to show Charles how wrong he was. To show him how strong you really are." Brett looked into Pansear's eyes, and Pansear looked into his. Pansear has never seen such kind eyes. They were eyes that were genuinely concerned about his wellbeing. These were the eyes of a trainer who cared. Pansear jumped up and hugged Brett, and he cried. He cried hard. Brett just held him and comforted him. He was happy that Pansear finally was opening up to him. Pansear smiled through his tears, because he knew he was going to be alright. He knew everything was going to be alright.

"Pansear, Incinerate!" Pansear blew the cone of flames at the log and burnt it to ashes. Brett made tremendous progress with Pansear. Ever since that night they talked, Pansear has been tirelessly working to become the best he could. He wanted to make Brett proud of him, and he knew he would.

"Great job Pansear! That was a great move!" Brett scooped Pansear up and hugged him, and Pansear hugged back. "Welcome to the team, buddy." Pansear smiled and hugged Brett a little tighter.


End file.
